Sensitive Periods

The first six years of a child’s life are widely known as the formative years as they build the fundamental character of every person.  In these years, children become aware of themselves as individuals, start to understand the needs of others and are beginning to find their place in the environment and time they grow up in. Learning in these years happens consistently, spontaneously and effortless.

Montessori described this period (0-6 years of age) as the Absorbent Mind stage, where children simply absorb all information they receive through their senses and store them first in their subconscious and later in their conscious mind. During this stage of development, children find themselves particularly drawn to specific parts of the environment or certain ways of learning.

Montessori described this as the urge of nature that leads children naturally to create themselves and adapt to their environment. These specific sensitive periods exist only in the Absorbent mind stage. They are identified as the sensitive period for movement, order, refinement of the senses, attention to small objects, language and social aspects of culture.

The Montessori environment is specifically designed to give children the opportunity to fulfil these sensitive periods when they arise in the child.

The primary goal of a Montessori programme is to help each child reach their full potential in all areas of life. By using both concrete teaching materials and a well-defined innovative curriculum tailored to a three-year cycle. Activities promote the development of social skills, emotional growth and physical coordination, and cognitive preparation. In addition, the holistic curriculum allows the child to experience the joy of learning and develop self-esteem and independence. This is referred to as the “Whole child approach”.

For self-directed learning to take place, the whole learning environment – room, materials and social climate – must be supportive of the learner. Montessori operates on the principle of “freedom within boundaries”. Every environment has its set of ground rules which differs from age to age but is always based on core Montessori beliefs: respect for each other and for the environment.

The Directress provides necessary resources, including opportunities for children to function in a safe and positive climate. The Directress thus gains the children’s trust, which enables them to try new things and build self-confidence. Our Staff follows “Montessori principles” as they structure new activities for the classroom.

This is one of the most important concepts. The work cycle represents one of Maria Montessori’s earliest observations about children’s development: that, left uninterrupted, children would process through a regular and predictable pattern of engagement. The pace of the classroom, then, is ideally matched to the development of the child when the day’s schedule allows for three-hours of uninterrupted time in the prepared environment.

The children at The Bay Montessori look forward to their lunchtime meal, which is prepared with care by our kitchen staff. Lunches are enjoyed in each class in a homely way, as a family, with the children dishing up and washing their dishes afterwards. They love the home cooked warm dishes and are delighted by the ‘rainbow foods’ (fruit and vegetables) that accompany each meal.
We only use free range meats, chicken and eggs, and organic ingredients as far as possible.
We do cater for special dietary needs.

Please note: If your child is not signed up to receive our cooked lunches, your child will be encouraged to fetch their own lunch from their bags to join their peers for the lunchtime  gathering.